World's most beautiful bank buildings

By CNN Staff

Updated 5:46 AM ET, Tue November 26, 2013

World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Bank of America Tower (New York) – Architects: Cook + Fox Architects, LLP; Adamson Associates.The Bank of America Tower is named after the largest bank in the U.S.A.The skyscraper was officially the second-tallest building in New York until the topping-out of One World Trade Center in May 2013.

European Investment Bank (Luxembourg) – Architect: Ingenhoven Architects.Located in Luxembourg, the building is the headquarters of the European Investment Bank.The V-shaped offices, which are linked with one another by atriums and winter gardens, are fully spanned with glass.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Isbank Tower (Istanbul, Turkey) – Architects: Swanke Hayden Connell Architects; Tekeli & Sisa.At 181 meters in height, it was the tallest building in Turkey until 2012.Several details of the facade are reminiscent of Trump Tower in New York City, which was also designed by the architects Swanke Hayden.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Islamic Development Bank (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) – Architect: Nikken Sekkei Ltd.The two towers of the Islamic Development Bank Headquarters in Jeddah are connected by a roof structure. The building, which is over 100 meters tall, has a sophisticated design: narrow window slits in the outer walls serve to block the strong sunlight while the central patios are covered in glass in order to let in natural light.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Macquarie Bank Centre (Sydney) – Architect: Fitzpatrick + Partners.Macquarie Bank is headquartered in Sydney, and is Australia's only major bank.A particularly eye-catching aspect of Macquarie Bank Centre is the white lattice structure that sits like a net around the glass cube. A total of 1,000 tonnes of steel girder were used in construction of the building.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

National Bank of Dubai (Dubai, U.A.E.) – Architects: Norr Group Consultants Int. Ltd.; Carlos Ott Architect.The building houses the Emirates National Bank of Dubai, considered one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates.The shape of the building is reminiscent of a sail, a concept also used in Dubai in the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

ING House (Amsterdam, Netherlands) – Architect: Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten.ING House is headquarters to the global financial house ING Group.Due to its unusual shape, the building also has the nicknames "shoe" and "dustbuster."

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

One Churchill Place (London) – Architect: HOK International Ltd.One Churchill Place in London is headquarters to Barclays Bank, the third-largest bank in the UK.The 156-meter-tall building was the sixth-tallest in London at the time of completion, and is currently the 12th tallest.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Saxo Bank International HQ (Hellerup, Denmark) – Architect: 3XN Architects.The Saxo Bank International Headquarters is home to the Danish online investment bank Saxo Bank. Its expressive design makes it clearly stand out from its surroundings.The slanting and irregularly ordered blocks of color on the facade look like the stripes of a zebra.

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World's most beautiful bank buildings11 photos

Scotia Plaza (Toronto, Canada) – Architect: WZMH Architects.Scotia Plaza is currently Toronto's second-tallest multi-story building after First Canadian Place. It serves as headquarters to Scotiabank.In addition to this modern 68-story building, the same complex also contains the bank's historic main building, which has heritage status, at 44 King Street West.

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Story highlights

Bank of America Tower was officially the second-tallest building in New York until One World Trade Center topped out in May 2013

Bank of China Tower inspired by the shape of a bamboo stalk

Islamic Development Bank has narrow window slits to block sunlight while central patios are covered in glass to let in natural light

It should be no surprise that the world's financial behemoths also own or inhabit some of the best real estate.

"One of the most singular bank buildings is undoubtedly the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, the first building outside the United States to break the 1,000-foot mark and, even today, one of the world's tallest corporate headquarters," said an Emporis spokesperson.

Others in its list include the Macquarie Bank Centre in Sydney with a "sophisticated interior design ... [that] does entirely without loadbearing columns and provides light-flooded, colorful workspaces" and the Bank of America Tower in New York, which cost a billion dollars and is "one of the most eye-catching in this city."

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The report notes that even the recent financial crisis did not entirely kill banks' desires to build extravagantly.

"As recently as 2009, the Co-Op Bank, Cyprus, moved into an exclusive new designer building," the report says, also citing BBVA, Spain's second-largest bank, which is building a new headquarters with an immodest circular design by architects Herzog & de Meuron.